Sony’s trojan horse for 3D and Move: games you already own

Sony has money and effort sunk into two technologies: the PlayStation Move and 3D televisions and movies. The company would love nothing more than to have you waving your glowing, ball-tipped controller while wearing glasses in front of your brand new 3D Sony television. While both technologies will require an investment above and beyond the system you already own, the software side of the effort is doing exactly what it needs to do to get you ready to buy: making sure that you already own games that support each option before you buy either one.

The games are ready

Fans of the Sucker Punch-developed Sly Cooper series have much to celebrate. The trilogy of games is coming to the PlayStation 3 in one package, for only $40. The games will feature updated, high-resolution graphics, and if you're lucky enough to already own a 3D television you'll be able to enjoy the games in 3D as well. Just to drive the point home, the package will include minigames that use the PlayStation Move. If you don't have a 3D TV or the Move hardware, the three full games still justify the cost, and then the extra content will already be there in your home, waiting for you to upgrade.

The Sly Collection isn't the only game that will use this strategy: at E3 after showing the press a long section of Killzone 3 played in 3D, we learned that the game would launch not only supporting 3D but Move support as well. We were skeptical of placing so much importance on the 3D aspect of the game at first, but combined with the number of games getting Move support on top of standard controls it might be a smart move, even if giving up so much of the press conference for the presentation was a gamble.

The Gold version of Resident Evil 5 will also be playable with the PlayStation Move, and the team behind Heavy Rainstopped working on their own DLC in order to bring motion controls to the game. SOCOM 4 will of course work with standard controllers, but it will also support the PlayStation Move. For many of these games, 3D support is a patch away.

What does this mean for you?

This strategy is a strong one, and very simple: you're going to be buying games that are ready for the Move and 3D support even before you buy either of the technologies. In fact, it may get to the point where you have multiple games with Move-related content in your collection by Christmas, which would make purchasing the hardware a simple thing to justify. You already have games to play!

Furthermore, games you already own can be updated with Move or 3D support, giving you a low-cost incentive to make the leap into either tech. Would you rather buy a $150 Kinect and start building a game collection, or buy the $100 Move starter kit that works with your existing controllers and games that only require a patch to join the party? Sony wants to seed your gaming collection with Move and 3D content, ready to be unlocked the second you decide to buy the necessary hardware.